News is just out: PM Manmohan Singh's United Party Alliance has WON the historic confidence vote with 275 for, 256 against and 10 abstentions!
This means that Sonia and MMS will continue to rule India for the next year (or more, till the elections in 2010). This also means that India will finally sign the Nuclear Treaty with the U.S. of America. It means that Mayawati and the others will have to wait longer before they can access the seat of the Prime Minister of India. Finally, it will mean that the BJP has to bite the dust once again.
There is one more side-effect of this vote: the CPI M is headed for a split, with Karat probably having to face dissidence, and having to step down.
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Is the UPA Government ready to face a vote?
As everyone who is interested in Indian politics is aware, the UPA is about to face a vote of confidence next week in Parliament. The issue is whether India should sign the Nuclear treaty with the American Government ... a treaty that will allow it to access nuclear material for its reactors for use in India ... while at the same time, imposing safeguards and preventing it from using the same for making bombs. Opposing this ratification is the Communist Party of India (Marxist), a party that was, until a few days ago, a supporter of the Congress-led alliance known as the "United Party Alliance" or the UPA for short. This party, and in particular, its front-leaders, namely Prakash Karat, Brinda Karat, Sitaram Yechury and others, have, all along the line, opposed the treaty; last week, it finally withdrew support to the UPA and reduced the ruling disposition to a minority in the Lok Sabha. In addition to the CPI (M), the other major opponents include the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), among others.
The problem has been, to some extent, mitigated by the sudden show of support by the Samajwadi Party (SP), though, at last count, the UPA still needs support from 26 other members to sail through with a more than 50% majority (which translates to 272 members at the very least).
I have no doubt that the UPA has already started "gifting" money to Independents and fence-sitters. I also think that the SP will extract a huge price for supporting the UPA, as, otherwise, no love is lost between Mrs. Sonia Gandhi of the UPA and Mr. Amar Singh of the SP. In the final analysis, I think a lot of money (and I really mean a LOT OF MONEY) will change hands between the UPA and its would-be supporters before they actually buy out those unsure of their loyalties.
Let us see what actually happens on the 21st of this month when the UPA has called a special session of the Parliament to discuss and to vote on the issue. Perhaps they will sail through, and perhaps they will not. If they do not, the government at the center falls, and India will look towards a fresh bout of General Elections, perhaps as early as January to February 2009.
The problem has been, to some extent, mitigated by the sudden show of support by the Samajwadi Party (SP), though, at last count, the UPA still needs support from 26 other members to sail through with a more than 50% majority (which translates to 272 members at the very least).
I have no doubt that the UPA has already started "gifting" money to Independents and fence-sitters. I also think that the SP will extract a huge price for supporting the UPA, as, otherwise, no love is lost between Mrs. Sonia Gandhi of the UPA and Mr. Amar Singh of the SP. In the final analysis, I think a lot of money (and I really mean a LOT OF MONEY) will change hands between the UPA and its would-be supporters before they actually buy out those unsure of their loyalties.
Let us see what actually happens on the 21st of this month when the UPA has called a special session of the Parliament to discuss and to vote on the issue. Perhaps they will sail through, and perhaps they will not. If they do not, the government at the center falls, and India will look towards a fresh bout of General Elections, perhaps as early as January to February 2009.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Death by a gun - Benazir Bhutto
Certainly, this end was one that Benazir Bhutto must not have foreseen after returning to Pakistan a few months ago after spending several years in political wilderness! On the 27th, she was murdered, allegedly by al-Qaeda terrorists, but quite possibly by other, more national, anti-establishment forces, in the open, as she was returning from an election rally, in Rawalpindi.
My take: She did not deserve this! If anyone did, it would have been some of the other top political leaders of Pakistan. However, and this is a moot point, she was as unfriendly to India as Pervez Musharraf's regime is, so why should we grieve as Indians?
We should, as Pakistan is our immediate neighbour, and with Benazir's removal from the opposition, the elections to be held in January 2008, have lost meaning. As it is, Nawaz Sharif, the other returned ex-Prime Minister has already been barred from contesting. Hence, it seems that Parvez Musharraf will continue to hold sway over the fortunes of this beleaguered country. With access to the nuclear button, God forbid if the nuclear weapons were to fall into the wrong hands!
My take: She did not deserve this! If anyone did, it would have been some of the other top political leaders of Pakistan. However, and this is a moot point, she was as unfriendly to India as Pervez Musharraf's regime is, so why should we grieve as Indians?
We should, as Pakistan is our immediate neighbour, and with Benazir's removal from the opposition, the elections to be held in January 2008, have lost meaning. As it is, Nawaz Sharif, the other returned ex-Prime Minister has already been barred from contesting. Hence, it seems that Parvez Musharraf will continue to hold sway over the fortunes of this beleaguered country. With access to the nuclear button, God forbid if the nuclear weapons were to fall into the wrong hands!
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